Gettysburg Address

Lincoln Watching Over the Capital at the

Lincoln Memorial

Today marks the 151st anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. One of the best known, and arguably greatest, speeches in U.S. history, it was delivered 4 1/2 months after the Battle of Gettysburg at the dedication of the Soldier's National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Within three minutes' time President Abraham Lincoln eloquently reaffirmed the principles of freedom and human equality as established by the founders of America. Lincoln stated that the words spoken that day would not long be remembered, but the actions of the American men who died in defense of our liberty would be. I sincerely hope and believe that both of these historic events will be remembered for generations to come, as a symbol of how whatever may come, the American ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness will live on. President Lincoln summed up his historic oration, with instructions to those living, "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Today, Lincoln's address is engraved in his memorial in the U.S. capital in Washington D.C., a fitting seat for one of America's greatest leaders.